After many, many years of using Lightroom and Photoshop, I decided to move on. This article will discuss why and the new tools I will be using in their place.
A little history
I have been using some version of Lightroom or Photoshop for years and years. I remember getting a student discount ( a long, long time ago) on Photoshop that at least saved me a few bucks on the fairly expensive program at the time. Later on, I also added a version of Lightroom which added some better ways to manage a growing library of photos. Face it, most digital photographers have a ton of photos to sort through. Lightroom has so many tricks to help you do that. It was an amazing addition to the editing features I was already using in Photoshop.
Creative Cloud
Later, Adobe decided to take their program and make it pay as you go. It is where the whole market is heading and I don’t blame them. Money coming in at a steady pace allows them to continue to provide updates. The Creative Cloud also came with an iPhone and iPad Lightroom app, which made it easy to load photos to Apple devices (I don’t use Android or PC for photos, so this will be only about my Apple-centric experience) on the road. The CC plan I had also had a terabyte of cloud space for all those photos and I could see the library on my computer, iPad or iPhone. A very nice combo.
So why leave?
As time moves on, I have been less serious about photography, in general. Nowadays, we travel less, so less need for Photoshop’s incredible editing power. Instead, I take more photos of days in the life… wife, pups, and other interests. These are easy to edit with just basic iPhone apps. However, I still want some decent photo editing power and photo management when desired, so I was looking for a one time pay solution that I could have around for the long haul and not a pay forever model.
Raw Power
Raw Power is an app for the iPad, iPhone, and Mac that is a good substitute for Lightroom. It’s a $39 app for Mac and $9.99 on iPad and iOS. The coder has something called Nitro that they are building from the ground up that is current $99 ($79 with Raw Power - he also has a subscription model). Nitro isn’t a necessity until they move out of beta with their iOS app, but I wanted to mention it, since it has more editing features for the newer Macs ( Raw Power will still work on older Macs). I have an M1 Mac Mini and a 2016 MBP, so I essentially wanted both apps until I eventually get a new laptop.
With Raw Power, I can use my current iCloud family plan to store files without paying for more cloud space I don’t need. I have 2TB of cloud storage with Apple and I am currently using less than a terabyte. This allows me to also use one Photo library (Photos) for everything. Raw Photo makes it easy to star or flag photos and will automatically put them in necessary folders. Raw Photo will also allow the user to use Finder or Files if you want to maintain separate libraries, but I like the idea of consolidating to one library with albums that are more specific. Photos has its own AI which allows it to find photos of mountains ( for example) and move them to their own albums to review in Raw Power, as well.
In other words, this has advantages… one library for all my photos. Instead of jumping in and out of Lightroom and Photos, I am simply using Raw Power with Photos. Well, unless I am at my computer, where I have tons of files never moved to the photo app. This will allow me to flag and copy anything I want in my main Photos library easily. For me, I use Photos most of the time, so this just means it will get more and more organized and easier to separate out photos that don’t make the cut.
The fact that it can be used with iCloud that I already pay for ( AppleOne) means everything syncs and without costing me another fee. If I decide to quit iCloud down the road, I can still use this same app to manage everything on a local drive.
Editing
While nothing I know of has the incredible features of Photoshop, I still have a few apps I already bought for my Mac and iPad ( thanks to Phototshop being so under- featured on the iPad). With apps like Affinity Photo, Pixelmator Pro, Dark Room, etc. I feel like I won’t be missing much. As I mentioned, I am using less of these features anyway, so we are talking about quick edits. Raw Power (and Nitro) have the basic editing, so I may not need to export to Affinity or another app to get most of what I need done. I also have an app called Luminar AI on my Mac that I haven’t used all that often, but maybe I will use it more with Photoshop no longer being available.
Wrap Up
I am at the beginning of this new journey, so I am looking forward to seeing how it goes. I am hoping I save money in the long run, have better file management on Photos, while still being able to edit photos while home at my computer or on the road with my iPhone or iPad. Stay tuned in and I will update as the months pass and I streamline everything.
The Upsides
No monthly subscription (other than what I already pay for iCloud)
Using my iCloud account
Uses my main Photos app
Syncing across devices
Will help organize my Photos app
Downsides
No Photoshop available
Losing Lightroom Catalogs
A little history
I have been using some version of Lightroom or Photoshop for years and years. I remember getting a student discount ( a long, long time ago) on Photoshop that at least saved me a few bucks on the fairly expensive program at the time. Later on, I also added a version of Lightroom which added some better ways to manage a growing library of photos. Face it, most digital photographers have a ton of photos to sort through. Lightroom has so many tricks to help you do that. It was an amazing addition to the editing features I was already using in Photoshop.
Creative Cloud
Later, Adobe decided to take their program and make it pay as you go. It is where the whole market is heading and I don’t blame them. Money coming in at a steady pace allows them to continue to provide updates. The Creative Cloud also came with an iPhone and iPad Lightroom app, which made it easy to load photos to Apple devices (I don’t use Android or PC for photos, so this will be only about my Apple-centric experience) on the road. The CC plan I had also had a terabyte of cloud space for all those photos and I could see the library on my computer, iPad or iPhone. A very nice combo.
So why leave?
As time moves on, I have been less serious about photography, in general. Nowadays, we travel less, so less need for Photoshop’s incredible editing power. Instead, I take more photos of days in the life… wife, pups, and other interests. These are easy to edit with just basic iPhone apps. However, I still want some decent photo editing power and photo management when desired, so I was looking for a one time pay solution that I could have around for the long haul and not a pay forever model.
Raw Power
Raw Power is an app for the iPad, iPhone, and Mac that is a good substitute for Lightroom. It’s a $39 app for Mac and $9.99 on iPad and iOS. The coder has something called Nitro that they are building from the ground up that is current $99 ($79 with Raw Power - he also has a subscription model). Nitro isn’t a necessity until they move out of beta with their iOS app, but I wanted to mention it, since it has more editing features for the newer Macs ( Raw Power will still work on older Macs). I have an M1 Mac Mini and a 2016 MBP, so I essentially wanted both apps until I eventually get a new laptop.
With Raw Power, I can use my current iCloud family plan to store files without paying for more cloud space I don’t need. I have 2TB of cloud storage with Apple and I am currently using less than a terabyte. This allows me to also use one Photo library (Photos) for everything. Raw Photo makes it easy to star or flag photos and will automatically put them in necessary folders. Raw Photo will also allow the user to use Finder or Files if you want to maintain separate libraries, but I like the idea of consolidating to one library with albums that are more specific. Photos has its own AI which allows it to find photos of mountains ( for example) and move them to their own albums to review in Raw Power, as well.
In other words, this has advantages… one library for all my photos. Instead of jumping in and out of Lightroom and Photos, I am simply using Raw Power with Photos. Well, unless I am at my computer, where I have tons of files never moved to the photo app. This will allow me to flag and copy anything I want in my main Photos library easily. For me, I use Photos most of the time, so this just means it will get more and more organized and easier to separate out photos that don’t make the cut.
The fact that it can be used with iCloud that I already pay for ( AppleOne) means everything syncs and without costing me another fee. If I decide to quit iCloud down the road, I can still use this same app to manage everything on a local drive.
Editing
While nothing I know of has the incredible features of Photoshop, I still have a few apps I already bought for my Mac and iPad ( thanks to Phototshop being so under- featured on the iPad). With apps like Affinity Photo, Pixelmator Pro, Dark Room, etc. I feel like I won’t be missing much. As I mentioned, I am using less of these features anyway, so we are talking about quick edits. Raw Power (and Nitro) have the basic editing, so I may not need to export to Affinity or another app to get most of what I need done. I also have an app called Luminar AI on my Mac that I haven’t used all that often, but maybe I will use it more with Photoshop no longer being available.
Wrap Up
I am at the beginning of this new journey, so I am looking forward to seeing how it goes. I am hoping I save money in the long run, have better file management on Photos, while still being able to edit photos while home at my computer or on the road with my iPhone or iPad. Stay tuned in and I will update as the months pass and I streamline everything.
The Upsides
No monthly subscription (other than what I already pay for iCloud)
Using my iCloud account
Uses my main Photos app
Syncing across devices
Will help organize my Photos app
Downsides
No Photoshop available
Losing Lightroom Catalogs
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